Stupid Dog
by Rosie2009
Summary: Lately, Nora has been almost explicitly avoiding Piper. They haven't been able to talk or spend any time together. When Nora leaves with Dogmeat instead of Piper, a disaster occurs and consequentially, Piper learns a few things about family. Friendship, not romance.


"I've got a settlement that needs our help, General," Piper overheard Preston say. She raised an eyebrow and turned a bit in her seat to get a better look at the situation that was currently unfolding behind her.

"Sure. Just tell me what and where the problem is and I'll hop to it," Nora replied, her usual kind smile adorning her visage.

Piper couldn't ignore the small twinge of excitement and hope that involuntarily sprung in her chest. Maybe it'd be her that Nora picked this time.

"Well, it's a bunch of raiders bothering the people at Tenpines Bluff, and when they radioed in, they said that they thought the raiders were coming from somewhere nearby because they could hear the raiders making all sorts of noise. Here's the nearby area that they thought it was coming from," Preston said as he tapped a location on Nora's outstretched Pip-Boy.

"Okay, then. I guess I'll be on my way," Nora nodded her head at him, the corners of her lips still quirked in that caring look that made everyone feel as if they were her number one priority in life. Or at least, Piper always felt that way when the woman used it on her as she so often did. Even though it was a very selfish feeling.

Piper turned back to face the direction that her chair was turned in so that Nora wouldn't know she had been listening in on her conversation. She heard the footsteps behind her and she looked up at the slim form that slid past her. Piper's heart soared as the woman turned to face the lot of folks that were there in the house.

Nora's eyes met hers and she immediately knew that the woman would pick her to join her. It'd be just her and her best friend again- fighting off crazies and conversing over sweet rolls.

But then Nora angled her gaze downwards, an almost guilty hint to her expression. However, it quickly disappeared when she put on a big, toothy smile.

"Come on, Dogmeat. It's been a while since it could just be you and me. Let's get 'em," Nora said, patting her leg to signal Dogmeat to her side.

Piper watched dumbfoundedly as the German Shepherd sidled up to his owner with a happy bark and a wag of his tail.

They then walked out the door and Piper was left alone. All alone with nothing but her thoughts, her feelings, and an obsessive Minuteman. She really could've used some better company.

"Oi, I'm glad that mutt's gone. It apparently had some kind of beef with me the other day and it's taken to leavin' surprises in me shoes. An' not good surprises either," Cait suddenly sounded off.

Well, maybe Piper wasn't completely alone with the three evils. But Cait mostly was just another evil to add to her list.

Cait hauled herself to her feet from her seated position and ambled over to the counter behind Piper.

After only a few moments of silence, Cait began fussing.

"Man, I'd love to be havin' a drink right now. Why doesn't Nora keep any booze 'round 'ere?" Cait complained loudly as she rummaged through the nearby crate. The reporter huffed in irritation and allowed the anger surrounding her situation to seep out through her usual coping device- cynicism.

"Hey, Cait, I'd love for you to be swimming in the glowing sea right now. Why doesn't Blue send you there?" Piper mimicked Cait's comment with her own snide remark.

"Ooh, somebody's ridin' the cotton pony," Cait shot back, and Piper infuriatedly noted the sly smirk in her voice. Cait must've noticed Piper's anger.

She was not doing that, though, Piper indignantly noted to herself. The only person she even remotely discussed topics like that with was Nora and it was only because she felt obligated to make a remark about how badly her cramps were hurting her when she slowed down the golden-tanned woman as a result of it. However, Nora never complained and always asked her if she'd like to rest for a while until it passed.

"I certainly did not _want_ nor _need_ to know anything about that," Preston said as he walked by, casting Cait a disgusted glance.

"Keep yer shirt on, Garvey. She's just got 'er panties in a wad 'cause Nora decided to take the mongrel with 'er instead of sweet, little Pipesy," Cait replied in a sickeningly pleasant tone. Piper growled lowly, eyeing the back of Cait's head with a snarl.

The truth was that Cait had hit the nail on the head. Piper was very upset about Nora's decision to take Dogmeat with her rather than the reporter. In Piper's humble opinion, she was much better company that the German Shepherd could ever be. After all, who could keep up the firing when Nora was out of ammo or was reloading?

Piper reached down beside her chair and flicked the cap off of her Nuka Cola bottle. She put the top of it to her lips and sipped a bit of it. She swallowed the drink, her tongue swiping across the remaining wetness surrounding her mouth.

But perhaps Cait had really missed the true reason. Piper felt that Nora had been avoiding her recently and she didn't understand why. It wasn't fair. Nora had been taking everyone but Piper with her on missions. Last week it was Cait, the week before that was Preston, the week preceding that one was Codsworth, and now she was taking Dogmeat? Piper felt like she was getting ripped off somehow with this deal.

Piper really had nothing against the sweet dog. She was quite fond of the rascal. Even if he somehow always managed to find her sweet rolls no matter where she put them. That was probably the only thing he ever did that really got on her nerves.

But, returning to her rant over Nora's avoidance of her, who knows who Nora would pick next? It'd likely be MacCready or Strong or Curie or maybe even Danse, despite his constant runs back and forth between the Brotherhood of Steel airship and Sanctuary Hills. But another, darker part of her mind suggested that Nora might even come up with somebody different. This would likely be the only time that Piper ever would curse Nora's overt kindness and openness to other people.

"Cat got yer tongue, Piper? Or did the dog?" Cait suddenly guffawed loudly, effectively disturbing Piper from her thoughts.

The reporter rolled her eyes and averted her eyes from the redhead, trying to estimate where Nora was at that moment as she placed her Nuka Cola bottle on the table nearby.

Piper, as much as she wanted to help people, sometimes resented Preston's constant pushing of Nora. He always somehow came up with odd jobs for Nora to complete as the General of the Minutemen in order to support the never-ending struggle to gain more allies.

Piper had recently overheard Nora quietly discussing with Curie how she wished he'd slow it down a bit with the constant jobs and how it was taking a toll on the amount of sleep she was getting. Of course, that's all Piper was ever able to do anymore- listen in on Nora's conversations with her other friends.

It was almost like Nora didn't trust her anymore. It was absolutely awful. Piper liked hanging out with Nora's group of misfits and respected that Nora spent time with them, too, but she truly treasured the time when it could just be her and her best friend. It had been a while since they were able to just sit and discuss their lives. Or even something as simplistic and ridiculous as how much they mutually hated Mirelurks.

"Strong see something coming. Look there," the large super mutant growled nearby Piper, pointing in the general direction of the incoming figure. She immediately hopped out of her chair and drew her pistol from its holster. It had become a habit, as terrible as that sounded. Despite the fact that not everything and everyone that came by was someone trying to kill them, Piper had found that it was always safer to be prepared for the worst.

"Wait a minute… Is that Dogmeat?" Preston questioned, lowering his gun. Piper furrowed her brow and squinted a bit, trying to make out the shape.

As the figure drew closer, she could hear the panicked, frenzied whines. Piper's eyes widened as the animal sprung over a nearby fallen tree. It was Dogmeat.

But where was Nora?

"Dogmeat?" Piper questioned quietly as the dog bounded in front of the group. He barked once, his ears folded back against his head as he looked back in the direction that he came from. He then turned to Piper, staring up at her.

At the moment that she peered into the dog's warm brown orbs, Piper knew in her gut that something very bad had happened. Call it reporter's instinct, but nevertheless she felt a sinking sensation and an impending sense of dread crashing down on her like a ton of bricks.

Something must have happened to Nora. Dogmeat would never leave her unless she commanded it. And from the spooked way that the dog was acting, she didn't seem to have done that. He would've likely been a lot calmer if it were all under casual circumstances.

"What is wrong with that mutt?" Cait demanded suddenly, sounding quite exasperated with the whole situation.

Piper looked over at the redhead. Cait met her gaze with an angry one of her own, seeming to miss the frightened gleam in Piper's eyes. She never had been the perceptive type.

"What're you lookin' at? The dog's goin' ballistic for no reason at all and you expect me to tolerate it?" Piper shook her head indiscernibly in some sort of subtle negation of Cait's statement.

"Blue's in trouble," Piper concluded halfway to herself. Dogmeat barked loudly several times and spun around in an excited circle, galloping a few feet in the path from which he appeared.

Piper exchanged a worried glance with Preston. She recognized the heaviness in his stare. It mirrored her own.

"Somebody's got to go check," Piper proclaimed, starting off toward Dogmeat, snatching a few grenades that Nora likely left behind in case of an emergency involving the people she left behind. She shoved them down in her empty coat pocket.

"Wait, Miss Wright, you surely cannot be considering going it alone," Codsworth called out behind her. She knelt down beside a box of first aid supplies that they kept handy, making the decision to take three stimpaks, a small bottle of purified water, and a container of RadAway.

"I'm her friend, Codsworth, and I can't let anything happen to her," Piper determinedly replied, rising from her squatting position and breaking into a jog.

"Piper, I'm comin' with ya," Cait sidled up to the reporter. "Gotta make sure Nora hasn't done banged 'erself up too bad."

"Strong come, too. Little humans need Super Mutant's help because little humans weak. Can't carry human lady friend home." Strong's heavy footsteps thundered behind them, signaling his joining of the group.

"Oh, dear. Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear," Piper heard Codsworth worriedly saying as he paced back and forth between the same two areas.

"We'll stay here and keep a watch over things," Preston shouted after them. Piper nodded, despite the fact that she was likely too far away for him to see her small acknowledgement of his statement.

Piper was too far into her own concerns and focused on following Dogmeat to worry over giving a proper response to the man. She just hoped that Nora was alright.

…

"Can't we slow down fer a moment? I'm gettin' tired of this heat," Cait whined, falling behind a bit.

"No, we can't. I'm finding Blue even if I have to run all day and all night."

"Talk about dedication," Cait scoffed, but sped up some so that she was nearer to the group.

"Little human couldn't run all day and night. Little human would be too tired because humans are weak."

"You'd be surprised at the things that I can do when I put my mind to something. Not that you'd know about doing any of that," Piper murmured the last part, rolling her eyes involuntarily.

"Little humans no have brains," Strong replied haughtily, obviously offended by Piper's comment.

"That sentence was grammatically incorrect on so many levels," Piper couldn't help but note.

Despite her occasional inarticulateness and stumbling over her words, Piper had a real penchant for all things of the English language, and it really irked her when someone used their words incorrectly. Even if it was a pea-brained Super Mutant that she should probably have given some wiggle-room for in her high expectations.

Which somehow brought her back to the thought of Nora. Nora was exceedingly intelligent in the area of mathematics. She had memorized the multiplication facts up to twenty. Although, she wasn't inept in English either. She seemed to have a true talent for language in addition to that of arithmetic.

Little quirks and attributes like that somehow managed to make the knowledge of her possible endangerment more world-crushing.

However, it was getting harder and harder to concentrate on those thoughts due to the fact that Dogmeat suddenly wouldn't stop barking.

"Oi, would you shut up?! You stupid dog. I can't stand the sound of yer constant yappin'," Cait finally yelled at Dogmeat. Much to Cait's chagrin, it didn't seem to bother him in the least.

Piper looked around the place they had found themselves at. There were dead raiders spread out across the entire area and there were several campfires that were obvious signification of a raider settlement.

On the other hand, there were also several bodies of gunners scattered as well. Gunners didn't generally keep company with raiders, which meant it was likely a job that brought them there.

Nora had become quite infamous with the group, Piper couldn't help but remember. Were they perhaps on orders to murder Nora?

He approached Piper and barked loudly at her, his whole body hopping with the sound to emphasize his urgency. Piper kneeled down to peer into his face at eye-level.

"What is it, Dogmeat?" she questioned, reaching out and running her hand through his scruffy thick fur. He quickly shook her off and she stood up, understanding that what he was trying to convey was apparently very important.

Piper watched as Dogmeat rushed quickly over to a crumpled, fallen body. He nudged its hand with his nose, whimpering pitifully.

At that moment, Piper's heart seized as she allowed herself to openly gawk at the person lying on the ground. It was so dirty and broken-looking. One of the arms was twisted the wrong way and the person's face was turned in a manner that blocked Piper's line of sight.

However, there was one defining trait of the person. The little bit of the body that was clear from grime was bright blue. The color of Nora's jumpsuit.

"Is that…" Piper barely acknowledged Cait as she lurched forward, collapsing on her knees beside who she knew was Nora.

"Blue," Piper choked out, turning the woman over so that she could see her face. Nora's cheek was scraped, little droplets of blood forming, and her eyes were closed. Piper hesitantly raised her hand to feel for a pulse on her neck, dreading the answer to her questioning touch.

Barely, she felt the pump of blood through the vault-dweller's veins, signifying her livelihood.

Piper could've cried from the ultimate relief she felt filling her being, if it weren't for the increasing warmth and wetness pressing into her leg. Piper glanced down, trying to discover what in the world was touching her lower limb. To her great surprise and horror, she spotted an ugly gunshot wound on the woman's side. Her eyes widened, indicating the incoming panic that was beginning to overtake her being once again.

However, before she could get too worked up, something glinted on the ground beside her and she happened to see a bullet laying on the ground. It was coated thickly in blood that the reporter could only assume was Nora's. She must have pulled it out.

Piper knew she had to stop the bleeding and clean the wound. She took the purified water from her back pocket and poured it into the wound, rinsing it out. As she did so, she watched Nora's face. At one point, she could've sworn that she saw Nora's expression slightly contort to one of pain.

Once she did that, she grabbed the scarf tied around her neck and gave it one last longing look. It was her favorite one, but she knew that her friend needed it much more than she did. Without any further hesitation, she untied it from around her neck and banded it around Nora's midsection tightly, effectively stopping any bleeding.

She took a stimpak from her pocket and injected it in the vault-dweller's arm so that maybe it would speed up the healing process as it was made to do.

Piper stared into her friend's face as she gently raised her hand to touch it. She wiped the small bits of blood from the woman's cheek with her thumb.

"Is she dead?" Cait shortly questioned, and Piper jumped a bit at the closeness and the volume of the redhead's voice.

"No, but she's only barely alive. We need to get out of here, and quick. I'm definitely not a doctor, but I'm afraid she won't make it long without some better care," Piper stated, slipping her free arm under Nora's legs so that she could lift her.

She chose not to comment on the fact that Cait had asked a very stupid question. Why would Piper have wrapped Nora's wound with her scarf or stabbed her with the stimpak if she were dead? Piper also chose not to comment on Cait's watery eyes and abnormally pale complexion.

Piper then arose slowly, turning to Strong once she had stood up.

"Strong, I need you to be gentle with her, her arm's broke. Can you do that? Please," Piper requested, peering up into the Super Mutant's disgusting visage.

"Strong be careful," he claimed and nodded his head slowly, seeming to understand the gravity of the situation.

"Okay… Here you go, big guy," Piper agreed, carefully moving Nora over into Strong's arms.

She watched somewhat fearfully as the large creature cradled Nora in his arms, the latter looking down at Nora strangely. Piper almost wanted to add something along the lines of don't think of having any road trip snacks.

"Strong… sorry for little human lady," he said, his grotesque visage contorting into a scowl as he stared at the body lying in his arms.

That statement came as a real surprise to Piper, especially considering that this was the guy that said Nora should've cooked and eaten Dogmeat when the poor animal came down with something a month or two back.

It was then that it really occurred to Piper that perhaps everyone loved Nora as much as she did. Maybe, despite all of their differences, they were all just one big, strange family unit where no one played a conventional part. There was no father, mother, sister, or brother. They were all together and cared deeply about one another. It wasn't romantic, but rather a familial bond.

Nora brought them all together. Nora was the glue that continued to hold them together. And if something were to happen to the vault-dweller, none of them would know what to do. They wouldn't be able to just return to their normal lives, because Nora was such an intricate part that no one could exist and function properly without her.

And as they set off for Sanctuary Hills and as Piper stared at the beautiful, kind, and caring person that was her best friend, all she could think was how much she needed that woman to live for not just herself, but for everyone.

"You better not die on me, Blue," Piper murmured, reaching her hand out to touch the vault-dweller's knee that was limply draped over the Super Mutant's arm. "We all need you."

…

"You guys are finally back. And in one piece, too. Great! Wait, oh, no," Preston trailed off, his eyes widening and his relieved smile dropping as Piper, Cait, and Strong went by.

"Mum?" Codsworth questioned, pitifully hopefully at the sight of them.

"Is- is she alright?" MacCready stammered a bit, as they passed. Piper couldn't even bring herself to respond to the man.

"Mademoiselle! Oh, dear," Curie exclaimed, rushing over to Strong's side. Piper moved a bit, allowing the medic to look at the woman.

"This does not look very good. Not good at all," the robotic Frenchwoman mumbled. Piper really wanted to say something sarcastic in response, but the sight of the normally so composed Curie in such a tizzy silenced any snarky comments she'd come up with.

"Wow. What happened? She got banged up pretty bad. Is she gonna be alright?" Nick drawled as they walked into Nora's old house that happened to be the house that was selected to be the sleeping quarters of the settlement.

They approached the extra bed that no one ever used and, with Piper's help and guidance, Strong gently placed Nora on it.

Piper stepped back a little, looking down at the still body that rested in front of her. She moved her gaze to the woman's chest, watching for any signs of movement that would be indicative of breathing.

After several long moments, she let out a relieved breath at the sight of Nora's chest rising in a motion of air intake.

Piper then silently turned and travelled to the corner of the room where a metal chair rested. She curled her fist around the top of it and picked it up. She wordlessly placed it beside the bed and sat down, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

She stared at the woman's face and allowed herself to relax from her temporary duties of bossing everyone around. Piper immediately wished that she could continue that or have something else to do due to the nigh stifling sense of panic and worry that was suddenly seizing and twisting her insides in a death grip.

"I'm goin' to find somethin' to punch," Cait suddenly announced, her voice a bit wavery as she nearly broke into a run in her haste to get out the door.

Piper nodded her head in response, never breaking her consistent gaze. She knew that Cait was likely affected by Nora's condition more than she wanted to let on. Hence her leaving the room to avoid direct interaction with the problem.

"I'll make sure she doesn't end up in some pit. The General wouldn't appreciate all of her hard work cleaning Cait up going to waste," Preston excused himself, exiting with his hand clenching his laser musket so tightly that Piper could see that his knuckles were turning white.

Piper watched as Strong wordlessly left the room. Shortly thereafter she heard a crash and the loud sound of a ground-shaking stomp. She shifted a bit in her seat, glancing out the nearby window. Strong was angrily stomping away with a crushed mailbox left in his wake. That explained the loud noises.

"I need to see if her arm is in the correct position so that she will not suffer as much discomfort upon awakening," Curie claimed as she began to busy about.

Piper knew it'd likely be disgusting to watch her pull Nora's arm back into socket, so she attempted to distract herself.

Before long, her thoughts wandered to a particular track that Piper couldn't help but ponder and fret over.

It was unsettling, seeing everyone in such a tailspin over Nora's sudden injury. Piper couldn't help but glance around the room and look at all of the people that were still there with her.

MacCready was not too far from Piper, sitting on his bed with his hands clasped and his chin resting on them.

Nick was leaned against the wall, looking at the ground and seemingly in his own little world. Perhaps he was recalling his memories of the Pre-War cop's life to distract himself.

Curie had apparently finished the procedure and found herself a chair positioned at the opposite side of the bed from Piper.

Piper tried to imagine what Danse would do if he were there. He'd likely immediately busy himself with fixing up his Power Armor with even more gadgets. He'd been strangely distant as of late, Piper couldn't help but note. She felt it in her gut that something wasn't right, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what.

Deacon was off doing something with the Railroad. Piper thought he said something to Nora about some kind of spying. Who knew when he'd be back.

Hancock was at Goodneighbor attending to some urgent business involving a guy, a gun, a robot, and a shot of Jet. If you asked Piper, it just seemed like an excuse to hide away from Nora's scrutinizing, disapproving gaze while he got stoned on something that wasn't fit for Ghoul, human, synth, or Super Mutant consumption.

Piper was disturbed from her thoughts by a whimpering warmth suddenly engulfing and covering her feet.

She looked down and was met with the sight of Dogmeat draped over her feet, his ears laid back and his head resting on the floor. Taking pity on the poor animal, Piper reached down and stroked the slick fur covering the part of his head between his ears.

Piper's distressed feelings must have been coming off of her in waves, because before long, Curie spoke up.

"Don't worry, Mademoiselle Wright. I…" She paused for a moment, running her eyes of Nora's form in a manner that almost resembled some sort of scan. Of course, Piper thought, Curie likely was trying to do that. After all, she still thought like a robot and even attempted to operate like one at times despite her synth body. It was sometimes very easy to forget that she hadn't been thinking like a human all of her life.

"Statistically, she has a sixty percent chance of surviving. It is, say, tipping the scale in favor of the positive outcome?" Curie finished, a bit of a question in her voice. Piper assumed that it was likely due to her unfamiliarity with common human phrases and figures of speech.

Piper managed to muster enough willpower to give the robot a kind smile, silently thanking Curie for at least trying to make her feel better. Sixty percent wasn't much higher than fifty and the remaining forty scared Piper out of her wits.

"I am no good at this comforting, am I?" Curie suddenly said, looking down at her hands with a dejected expression. Despite Piper's worry and overall unpleasant mood, she still felt some sort of obligation to make the poor synth feel better.

"No, no, you're fine. Don't worry about it. I'm just… scared. And that's not an easy feeling to cope with. But I feel much better now that you told me those odds," Piper lied. She wasn't a big fan of untruths, given her self-sworn oath of honesty with the public, but sometimes she had to go against that self-rule to follow her other one surrounding kindness to distressed people.

"I… I suppose I am as well. It is a strange and very unpleasant feeling. I have not felt this very often and it's disconcerting. I cannot even attempt to distract myself." Piper watched out of the corner of her eye as the synth wriggled a bit in her seat, apparently squirming about under the never-ending pressure of the feelings swirling within her.

Piper didn't really know what to do to make the synth feel better. Of course, if Nora were awake, she'd know exactly what to do for Curie. Piper was really awkward when it came to telling anybody but Nora how she personally felt about sensitive topics. She trusted Nora to keep things a secret and to always be her friend.

But as she sat and eyed the poor medic, she couldn't help but wonder how she might could at least slightly alleviate her pain.

Piper looked at the Pip-Boy wrapped around Nora's wrist.

When Piper felt homesick or was just down, sometimes Nora would turn on Diamond City Radio and sing with some silly song while she worked on an upgrade or something to try to make Piper feel better. And there were more than a few times that it worked and they both ended up in stitches over some word that Nora messed up in the midst of the song.

The reporter looked to the side of her and spotted a small radio on the table beside the bed. Giving Curie one last glance, she leaned over and switched the radio on, tuning it so that one of Nora's beloved classics played softly throughout the room.

Piper tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair gently to Bing Crosby's cheerful "Pistol Packin' Mama."

When she believed that Curie wasn't looking, she took a peek at the synth. She looked more relaxed and Piper could definitely see the change in her. Perhaps the song took her to a better place. Maybe when her old laboratory was full of life and there were many people actively researching things that Piper couldn't have even begun to understand.

Piper crossed her arms over her chest and slouched back a bit in her chair, closing her eyes so that she could at least try to get a bit of sleep. After all, if- when. When Nora came to, Piper would probably never let her leave Sanctuary Hills again.

…

"Mmm," Piper's head shot up from her relaxed position. Her eyes widened in shock as she watched the outstretched body in front of her begin to move. Dogmeat shot up onto his feet, placing his paws on the bed as he sniffed excitedly.

Piper had been sitting there waiting for nearly two days straight for this moment with little food or water. The only one of Nora's ragtag group that was as steadfast as Piper was Dogmeat and Curie, and Curie's was likely partially due to her medical expertise and desire to help.

However, Curie wasn't there then, and Piper was, for the first time in a long while, completely alone with Nora save for a dog.

"Blue?!"

"Geez, everything's sore," Nora's groggy voice ground out lowly as she propped herself up on an elbow, her eyes slowly sweeping the room as she adjusted herself.

"You're finally awake!" Piper all but yelled as she excitedly grabbed Nora's hand with her own.

Dogmeat removed his paws from the bed, barking happily and wagging all over. He then suddenly rushed out of the room, racing as fast as he could.

Piper giggled a bit at the dog's silly act, but upon returning her focus to Nora quickly felt herself almost melt into a puddle of blubbering goo at the kind and loving smile that slipped onto Nora's face.

But the smile quickly faded as Nora suddenly gained a concerned expression.

"Are you okay?" If it weren't for Piper worrying over Nora possibly injuring herself in her haste to do as she always did when someone was upset, Piper likely would've began hysterically bawling with that simple question. Gosh, she hadn't been this emotionally muddled since her teenage years.

"Blue, I find you dirtied up, lying on the ground and practically bleeding out from a gunshot wound in the midst of a bunch of dead raiders and gunners, and you've got a broken arm. You're really asking me if I'm okay?" Piper questioned, chuckling humorlessly as she eyed the woman lying on the bed in front of her.

"Hmm… Seems like you do present a good point there, Piper," Nora replied with a quiet laugh, coughing a bit after her weak attempt at humor.

"Hey, don't strain yourself," Piper chastised gently, reaching in her pocket for a stimpak. She injected it into Nora's arm carefully, knowing that it would likely quickly heal up any soreness and pain that she might be suffering.

"Wow, you, being the most reckless person in all of the Commonwealth, are telling me to not push myself. A little ironic, don't you think?"

" _Second_ most reckless person. You've got first place, no questions asked, Blue," Piper wryly responded, looking down at their joined hands as her smile faded slowly.

"What's wrong?" Piper heard Nora ask as her grip tightened on the reporter. Piper averted her gaze to the radio nearby the bed, avoiding Nora's intense gaze with a sigh.

Piper knew that Nora deserved an answer. After all, Piper nearly lost a chance to say anything to her ever again. If she didn't tell Nora now, she may not ever have the opportunity again. Life was so precious, so fragile, and it could just slip from one's hands even when they thought they had a good grip on it.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Piper suddenly said. It halfway surprised her when it fell out of her mouth, but she figured it was probably a good starting point.

She met Nora's green, brown-speckled gaze with her own and immediately identified the solemnness and sadness in the vault-dweller's stare.

"Piper, I haven't been taking you with me because… Well, because you actually have family to come home to. You have a little sister who adores you and you're all she has left. If something were to happen to you, then she'd be left at a loss with absolutely no one to take care of her besides me. And you and I both know I'm not a good option," Nora explained.

Piper wrenched her hand from the older woman's grip and stood up suddenly, glaring down at Nora's face. Nora had successfully set off the ticking time bomb that was Piper's temper.

"And don't you think people would miss you too if you died?! I have been sitting here waiting for you to open your eyes for three days, Blue! Curie has, too. Cait's been out beating the crap out of anybody that looks at her funny, Preston's been trying desperately to ensure that everything stayed orderly while you've been down, Nick's been moping. _Moping_! Nick Valentine of all people is moping!

"And you're worried about protecting me. Gosh, Blue, if anybody needs protecting, it's you! You recklessly throw yourself out in harm's way for anyone and everyone all the time. I'll likely never get hurt because you're going to be there to take the bullet first," Piper suddenly quieted down, feeling some of the anger dissipating.

"Y'know, sometimes I don't think you value your own life at all. Sometimes, I think you purposefully put yourself in harm's way just because you don't mind the idea of the end. Is that true?" Piper paused for a moment, allowing Nora a little time to answer.

"Blue, what you don't know is that… You've got a family right here. We all love you and value you. If you were to die… I don't think I could function and be normal afterwards. We all love you so much that it hurts inside. You are the piece of the puzzle that keeps all of us other pieces together. We depend on you. You're what we need to keep us on the straight and narrow, to give us hope and inspiration that one day, things will get better," she quietly said, feeling hot moisture slip down her cheeks that she didn't bother wiping.

"Don't you see? There's no reason to keep me from going with you, because you're just hurting me worse leaving me here. I'd rather be there with you, being a team like we always are," Piper choked out, her voice cracking with the words.

That was it. Piper had poured every piece of her soul there in that one conversation. She unleashed the biggest and most important truth of all.

They were family. And with family, no one is left behind and everyone watches each other's backs.

"Piper, come here," Nora murmured after several moments of silence. To Piper's surprise, she soon found herself sitting beside Nora's bed once again. What surprised her even more, however, was the sudden hug she received as soon as she reseated herself.

Piper couldn't help but allow a small sob to overtake her form for a moment. She clung tightly to Nora, completely forgetting about the vault-dweller's injuries. However, if it was hurting her, she didn't bother to say anything about it.

"I love you guys, too. I love Curie, Cait, Preston, Nick, Danse, Codsworth, Deacon, MacCready, Strong… And I love you," Nora murmured somewhere nearby Piper's ear.

"Thank you for talking some sense into me. You're the best friend that anyone could ask for," Nora pulled away just enough to wipe the tears from Piper's face with her thumb. Piper grinned sweetly at her and swallowed hard, trying to get a hold of herself.

"You're welcome, Blue. And thank you, but _you're_ definitely the best friend that anyone could ever ask for. I mean, look at all the friends you've got here all because of your generous self. That's more than I've ever had in a lifetime," Piper said, sitting back down in her chair while keeping a steady grip on Nora's hand.

"Well, I'd say that you're probably one of the best friends _I've_ ever had, then. How's that?" Nora questioned, a teasing tone lacing her voice as her lips quirked back into that familiar easy smile.

"Hmm," Piper hummed, pretending to think over Nora's title for her. After a few moments of stroking her chin in mock contemplation, she gave Nora a big smile.

"I think it's an honor," Piper claimed, sincerity in her voice.

They both sat in comfortable quiet for a moment, just enjoying each other's company.

"Madame?!" an excited voice suddenly exclaimed, interrupting the silence of the room. Piper looked over at the doorway and took in the sight of Curie, her whole face lit up even brighter than her usual bubbly, optimistic personality allowed. And that was normally at least as bright as a Christmas tree.

"Oh, Madame, I was so, so worried! I was- how you say- excreting my pants with the fear?" Nora and Piper simultaneously turned to stare at the Frenchwoman. Once they were past the initial shock of the statement, they both laughed.

"Not literally, of course," Curie embarrassedly added, her neck and face glowing red as a beet. Piper and Nora simply laughed harder at the poor synth's expense.

"Stupid dog draggin' me in this direction. Had the nerve to bite and pull on my pants, too. What is all the racket-" Cait stopped quickly mid-sentence, her whole body freezing in shock.

"Hey, Cait," Nora slowed down her laughter enough to greet the redhead. The bedraggled Irishwoman blinked twice, seeming to snap out of her dumbfounded stupor, and she immediately began moving toward the bed. However, she stopped in her tracks after a moment, thinking better of it.

"It's about time you woke up. You… had me a bit worried," Cait finally said after a moment, allowing some semblance of her usual smirk to slip onto her visage.

"A bit worried? I think you were excreting your pants with the fear," Piper casually commented, with just a hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth. However, as soon as her and Nora's eyes met, they both burst into laughter.

"Oh, you cheeky devils! Teasing poor little Curie," the Frenchwoman huffed, her eyes narrowed and her whole face contorted into an angry pout.

"What're you two hootin' about? I dunno what's so funny about a bunch of scientific terms getting' muddled together in forms I can't understand," Cait confusedly shifted her gaze between the three women.

Dogmeat yapped excitedly, galloping over to the side of the bed and spinning around in circles.

"Mum!" Codsworth hurried in, with several others following along behind.

It was then that Piper realized that what had seemed like Dogmeat being ridiculous, was really Dogmeat going to get the others so they could see Nora, too.

"Hey, Codsworth. Before you say anything, I'm all good. You guys did a great job taking care of me," Nora reassured the robot butler with a grin, still giggling a bit.

"Oh, my, Miss Nora, you have no idea how absolutely, dreadfully worried I was," Codsworth practically wailed.

"General. It's good to see you up and- erm, down and well. Well is my main point here," Preston awkwardly corrected himself, positively beaming despite his embarrassment.

"Thank you, Preston," the brunette smiled understandingly at him.

"Hey, you're finally awake," Nick suddenly walked in, his hands in his pockets.

"Yep, they're going to have to do a lot worse to kill me off."

"Well, kid, I'm just glad you're alright. Don't… Don't go pulling any more stunts like that, okay?"

"I'll try to avoid that, Nick," Nora replied, chuckling a bit.

Piper then heard loud footsteps stomping just outside of the house. She watched as a huge form ducked underneath the doorway, effectively letting himself in.

"Human lady okay! Strong very glad!" the large Super Mutant boomed.

"Hey, big guy," Nora greeted with her ever-present smile.

"Yo, boss. It's good to see you alive," MacCready spoke casually in a manner that was too casual to be nonchalant. Piper supposed in MacCready-talk, that likely meant, "I was worried sick about you and thank goodness you're alive."

And in that moment, as Piper sat beside one of the most important people in her life, she was able to see a future. A future with her family. As misfit and mixed up as they all were, they somehow fit together. That was good enough for Piper. And looking at Nora, Piper could tell it was good enough for her, too.


End file.
